The Problem with Informal Settlers: A Cycle of Poverty and Displacement

Forty-three percent of urban dwellers in the Philippines live in informal settlements, and more than 17 million people were counted below the poverty line in 2023. These two figures are not separate problems — they feed each other. A family pushed out of a formal housing market lands on risky ground near railway tracks or riverbanks. That location gets targeted for a public infrastructure project, and the family gets displaced again, often farther from the jobs and schools that could help them climb out of poverty. The cycle repeats, and each turn makes escape harder.

Large infrastructure projects like the North-South Commuter Railway Project (NSCRP) — a $5.36-billion railway funded by the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency — illustrate the tension. The line promises a 40-minute commute from Alabang to Clark International Airport, but it also threatens to displace thousands of families who have built their lives along the old Philippine National Railway (PNR) tracks. The hope of faster travel for some means the loss of homes and daily income for others.

Three Forces That Lock the Cycle in Place

These three factors interact. A family with no land title cannot risk capital on a livelihood. Without a stable livelihood, they cannot afford formal rent or a mortgage. And without a formal address, they struggle to access credit, health services, and education. The cycle is structural, not a matter of individual effort.

Why Relocation Often Fails

The standard government response to informal settlements is relocation, but the policy runs into a hard constraint: land. In Mandaue City, for example, the City Government has been coordinating with national agencies to establish protocols for demolition, but land scarcity has stalled relocation efforts. City Administrator Gonzalo “Sally” Malig-on Jr. said finding an institutional solution within city limits is nearly impossible due to Mandaue’s compact geography, high property values, and extreme scarcity of available land. Affected residents reject relocation outside the city because their livelihoods are rooted there.

The NSCRP’s southern section resettlement plan estimates relocation costs at $1.2 billion — roughly Php 63.1 billion — covering land acquisition, resettlement assistance, relocation site development, compensation for crops and trees, and livelihood restoration. That is a significant budget, but as of January 2020, only the Manila local government had proposed relocation sites for affected residents (in Tanza, Cavite). Makati, Taguig, Parañaque, and Muntinlupa had not yet identified resettlement areas. Promises of relocation mean little when the land itself has not been secured.

Fine Print That Changes Everything

The Right-of-Way Puzzle

Infrastructure projects need contiguous land, but the tracks run through a patchwork of formal owners, informal occupants, and disputed claims. The Marcos administration established an interagency task force under Administrative Order No. 19 to streamline right-of-way processes and mitigate disputes. Still, PNR chair Michael Macapagal acknowledged that the agency would encounter right-of-way issues and address them “on a case-to-case basis.” Each case means delays, and delays mean families live in limbo for years.

The 1.94-Meter Problem

Nepomuceno Retardo, a resident near the tracks, described a pattern that many informal settlers recognize: “They cleared 15 meters from the railway before. Now they want an additional 1.94 meters. Almost every three days, someone’s measuring the area nonstop.” The incremental encroachment — a few meters here, a few there — slowly shrinks the space families can occupy, and each measurement is a reminder that their home is on borrowed time.

Relocation to the Province — Not the City

Macapagal stated that the government’s directive, from Malacañang and Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, is to relocate families to the same provinces or municipalities where they initially resided. For many urban informal settlers who moved to Manila from the provinces years ago, this means being sent back to a place they may no longer have ties to, with fewer job opportunities and weaker support networks.

What Can Break the Cycle

Livelihood-Centered Resettlement

The Pure Bayanihan model offers a concrete alternative. In Meycauayan, the organization partnered with a local church to provide Php 228,000 in livelihood support to 24 families. The aid was tailored — baking equipment for one resident, a sewing machine for a mother of a child with autism, a food cart for another — and paired with financial management seminars and ongoing mentorship. One recipient, Joyce, used her baking income to help pay off the community’s electric bill and saved enough to buy a small home and open a sari-sari store. The key was that the support stayed with the family in their existing community, rather than relocating them to a place with no economic base.

Community Organizing as a Hedge

In Buli, Muntinlupa, long-term housing and tenure insecurity led resident Christine Guevarra to join the urban poor organization Bangon Maralita – KADAMAY in 2009. Organized communities have a stronger voice in negotiation, access to legal aid, and the ability to coordinate with government agencies. The Mandaue City Government’s multi-agency dialogue, which included the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor and the Commission on Human Rights, shows that organized residents can push for protocols that prioritize humane treatment.

Local Government Commitment to In-City Relocation

Mandaue City Council passed a resolution directing the Housing and Urban Development Office (HUDO) to scout for available government-owned terrain within the city. While the administrator acknowledged that finding land within city limits is nearly impossible, the resolution itself signals that the local government recognizes the economic damage of out-of-city relocation. The gap between recognition and action is where real policy innovation needs to happen — whether through land-sharing arrangements, vertical housing, or incentives for private landowners to lease rather than sell.

Frequently Asked Questions

What the Cycle Demands

Displacement without economic support is not a solution — it is a rotation of the same problem. The evidence from Muntinlupa, Mandaue, and Meycauayan points to the same conclusion: breaking the cycle requires keeping families connected to their livelihoods while securing their tenure. That means relocation sites must be within commuting distance of job centers, and resettlement budgets must include livelihood restoration from day one, not as an afterthought. The next time a large infrastructure project announces a resettlement plan, the question to ask is not just “where will they go,” but “how will they earn a living when they get there.”

If this was useful, you might also want to read the deeper look at whether informal settlements are a product of individual choices or systemic poverty.

Sources

Developers vs. Residents: The Ugly Truth Behind Philippine Housing Projects — examines how large-scale developments often prioritize profit over the people they displace.

Gentrification in the Philippines: Who Can Afford to Live in Metro Manila? — explores the broader affordability crisis that pushes families into informal settlements.

Manila’s urban poor fear eviction, loss of jobs due to $5.3-B rail project. Manila Today, 2025.

Hope on Borrowed Land: How Informal Settlers Find the Confidence to Build Stronger. Pure Bayanihan, 2025.

Land scarcity hits relocation efforts. SunStar Cebu, 2026.